Observers were only able to accurately guess the sexual orientation of men; with women, their guesses didnt exceed chance. But whats most interesting to researchers is understanding how that snap judgment can unleash a series of stereotypes  even from the most liberal-minded.

Johnson and her colleagues attached motion sensors, like those used in the movie industry, to the hips and shoulders of eight volunteers  four men and four women, half of whom were gay. The motion sensors captured the only movements of the walkers, masking details such as clothing or hairstyles.

The researchers videotaped the volunteers walking on a treadmill at various speeds, and then played the video for 150 undergraduate observers, who were asked to determine the sexual orientation of each person.

As the gay men walked, they slightly swayed their hips. The observers were accurate in assessing the men's sexual orientation a little more than 60 percent of the time.

Theres reason to think that gay people cant conceal their homosexuality, says Michael Bailey, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University. I dont think its a performance that gay people enact. I think its something that either is inborn, or its acquired very early, perhaps by watching members of the other sex.

As the lesbians walked, they slightly moved their shoulders back and forth  Johnson calls it a less exaggerated version of an Arnold Schwarzenegger-type swagger.

But when it came to identifying the sexual orientation of the women, it was all up to chance.

Women in our society are permitted a greater latitude of behaviors, Johnson says. Theyre able to act in masculine ways , and adopt traditional masculine roles. Thats been happening since the 60s.

Were a society that permits women to do this, in fact, celebrates women who do this, she continues. But we punish men for [adopting feminine traits]." -MSNBC

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I've got to wonder here. Many gay men have friends and family with no clue they're gay and I question whether a study like this doesn't assume that all gay men exhibit the same walking behavior (perhaps what we might call swishy even if only slight) when, in fact, they don't. Some may not ever exhibit it and others may learn to suppress it early on.

I also am concerned about any study that relies on self-assessment of behvaior to rely on the validity of results. It appears that they relied upon the subjects themselves to indicate whether they were gay or not. Might not out gay men feel freer to be swishy if they were so inclined? Might not closeted gay men feel the need to conceal any physical traits that would identify them as gay? Again, do all gay men exhibit this tendency? Apparently not if only eight subjects were used yet sexual orientation could be determined 60% of the time.

There's an interesting graphic on that linked page showing the locomotion of what the study purports to be gay men versus straights of both sexes and lesbians however it's way too short and small to examine closely.

Gold Member

Also not much of a study since only eight people were used, usually you need a larger study group to get more accurate results. This small group is not a reflection of the population at large.

And once again, I point out that in this overpopulated world of how many billions of people, people come in all shapes sizes etc and this need for some to pigeonhole groups of people is just ridiculous.